had to log back in for this...

oh. my. god. today i received a package that contained chanel no 5 edp that i had won off ebay (btw, i'm NEVER bidding on there for frags again--this is the THIRD fake i've gotten. and who knows--i might have gotten others and not realized it!)

anyway, i knew it was bad news when i picked up the package from the post office and the return address was in BULGARIA. now i'm not stereotyping bulgarians, saying they are a bunch of chanel counterfeit-peddling freaks, but let's just say i don't usually get my chanel frags straight from bulgaria. i almost just sent it back while i was there! but of course, my curiosity was killing me so i went home and opened it and, boy, do i wish i had a digital camera because this is really a sight to behold. imagine if when you were about in the fifth grade your art teacher assigned you a project to make a chanel 5 bottle. she gave you some cheap glass bottles (complete with BUBBLES galore in the glass) and then she gave you some paste and markers, etc. well, this is what i have on my hands here pretty much. it's so laughable that i almost can't be mad. i DID NOT spray it. i am afraid it would be bulgarian urine mixed with patchouli or something. ugh--NEVER AGAIN, eBay [shaking fist], NEVER AGAIN!

by the way, his money-back return policy is only if the cellophane is not broken (btw, i am not positive at all on this, but does Chanel even wrap in cellophane? for the life of me I cannot remember if any of their frags I've bought have been &quot;sealed&quot. to that i say BULLDOOKIE, BULGARIAN! i whipped out a bunch of Louisiana Civil Code articles regarding sales and contracts on his ass (typically, an Internet seller is subject to the jurisdiction of the buyer) and told him he, by law, must accept the return and refund my money, as well as pay the return postage for this piss. (guess I am absorbing some of the stuff I'm learning in law school )

oh well, just had to share all that--it was too good to not share. anyway, i'll post the seller's name in the thread about ebay sellers. i really hate that this is the SECOND bad experience i've had on ebay bc i've actually had a ton of good experiences (i need to get around to posting the good ones on that thread, but that will have to wait).

Re: had to log back in for this...

I really feel sorry for you, I would be so p***** o** too, if that happened to me!
Your description was rather funny, though... ;D. I do think you should sniff a bit before returning it, and tell us what sensations came out of that bottle...

I have never tried e-bay, I`m too much of a coward, and this experience of yours didn`t exactly encourage me.

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Oh my...
That sounds horrible. I feel sorry for you. I try to be careful when bidding on eBay, and as it is possible to see where items come from, i try to avoid certain adresses. I think that even if the seller won't want to cheat on me, there are so many fake articles in Eastern Europe or China, fE, so it's too risky. They might not even suspect they sell a fake, if it's a private seller. Beware!
If you have already broken the cellophane, then you could as well test the frag. Who knows, maybe it's ok? Maybe a very old bottle?

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Oh, I am so sorry. I recently purchased a vintage Chanel No.5 Extrait on Ebay. I have not received it yet. It is 12.5 ml. Why don't I send you 1.5 ml. (I have tubes that size). I'd be happy to do that. I have too much fragrance to ever use up. This would be a nice way to pass some on. The photos of this extrait look very good - unopened &amp; in box. Color still very light &amp; clear. Send me a pm with address and I'll send off a tube of this rich extrait as soon as it comes.

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First of all, it's hard to get Chanel perfumes from any distributor, and Chanel are very, VERY picky about who they'll sell direct to (and they like to price fix, according to French courts ).

Secondly, even if you can get Chanel perfume from a legitimate distributor, it's very expensive, almost no profit margin at all.

About the only way you're going to get genuine Chanel on eBay (in my personal opinion) is if you're buying from a big distributor who are willing to share their business details (address, phone, etc.) or from someone who has a bottle of Chanel perfume that they got from a legitimate source and which they don't want any more.

Sorry you got burned. Definitely report to eBay.

bonni

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
-Karl, age 5

Re: had to log back in for this...

Thanks everyone for your sympathies...this really did sort of ruin my day (despite the hilariousness of the horrible fake). I don't think it helps that I am PMSing like crazy and am trying to cram all the info for my finals into my tired brain.

I asked the seller for his address to return the item and he lives in CHICAGO. i really don't understand how you can back your products 100% when you live in Chicago and your products ship from someone else in Bulgaria. It just doesn't make any sense. How can you guarantee the authenticity of something you've never even seen?

And thanks, Strange_Accord, that is SO sweet of you. Look for my pm.

Ugh--still haven't weaned myself off Basenotes completely. But I guess it's baby steps, considering I've only checked in a couple of times. I should've known I wouldn't be able to go cold turkey!

Almost forgot, to those of you who suggest spraying the fake--no way! Check this out:

p.s. Bonni, I am definitely going to report him, but I feel like ebay doesn't really do anything about this stuff. The person who sold me the fake Escada Ibiza Hippie and Lacoste Touch of Pink is STILL on there peddling their faux wares. Kind of discouraging...

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I've always tried to avoid Ebay because even one experience like this out of ten is just not worth the hastle and disappointment, IMO. I only use Ebay when I've exhausted all other possibilities. Another reason I avoid that monster is its little bully brother, Pay Pal - EVIL EVIL EVIL!

On a little lighter note, my new Chanel Egoiste came in a cellophane wrapped/sealed box.

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Recently I've had fabulous experiences with Ebay. There are a couple of sellers who are my &quot;favorites&quot; and I can't say enough about how wonderful, professional, and classy their service is. I haven't made any huge purchased on Ebay yet, though, and I don't think I would unless there was a LOT of positive feedback. I must tell you, though, a couple of years ago I a sample of En Passant with an Ebay order. I hated it. It smelled like a cucumber sandwich. Recently some great fate prompted me to try En Passant again and I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever smelled. I've already purchased a travel sized bottle and a decant from Ebay and they both smell wonderful, and they smell exactly alike (the travel size is in an FM bottle). If I had relied on the sample I'd gotten from Ebay a couple of years ago I may have missed out on the beauty En Passant brings to my life. I don't know if my first sample of En Passant was a fake, but if it wasn't it had definitely &quot;turned&quot; or something (this may not have been the seller's fault, but if I paid for something that &quot;turned&quot; I would be furious).

The seller in your case has a lot to learn about messing with perfume addicts. I have PMS too, and the ending of the original Stepford Wives comes to mind... &gt;

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gooderin,

In my experience, the typical savings gained in buying an already expensive perfume from an unknown source is neither worth the health risks, nor the constant feelings of uncertainty about its authenticity -- both of which can have dramatic psychological effects on your enjoyment of the scent. When in doubt, shop directly from the source.

Apparently counterfeit perfumes are BIG business, and the majority of these &quot;products&quot; are coming from China, and Eastern Europe:

Fake cosmetics is a growing problem of global proportions.
In Europe alone, EU customs authorities have reported that seizures of
counterfeit cosmetic products, including fragrances, jumped by 800 percent
in 2003, with the main hubs for the trafficking of such products found in
Eastern Europe and China.Source:http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/news/...t-fragrance-de

Sadly, it's not just the big ticket items that are in danger of being counterfeited. Even the less expensive popular ones such as Lancome Miracle and Joop! have been the target of these unscrupulous companies. (See: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...00-421,00.html)

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He refunded my money (&quot;scent&quot; + original shipping + return shipping) and was extremely pleasant throughout every email exchange (I'm not an accusatory hothead eBayer).

BUT THEN

I left him neutral feedback indicating that the perfume was fake but that he was wonderful about refunding my money (neutral feedback was pretty generous, in my opinion). And guess what? After seven years on eBay, I got my first negative feedback (I've never even received a neutral). He said I was an &quot;unfair buyer&quot; and advised others to &quot;beware!&quot;

I hope he's deported back to Bulgaria, where he dies instantly, the stupid SOB. :

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I know exactly how you feel, I've been there before. But now that things have settled, don't forget to do the following:

1. Be absolutely sure that on your own eBay feedback page you indicate that this SOB has left you an unfair retaliatory feedback.
This should help the future buyers (and sellers) understand the issue better.

2. (Optional): On his feedback page, feel free to do a follow up and tell the whole world what you think of this seller.
You only have about 80 characters, so make them count.
The only problem is that he may also leave you with his follow up. (That is why I indicated this step as &quot;optional&quot

Re: had to log back in for this...

Originally Posted by Godzilla

I know exactly how you feel, I've been there before. But now that things have settled, don't forget to do the following:

1. Be absolutely sure that on your own eBay feedback page you indicate that this SOB has left you an unfair retaliatory feedback.
This should help the future buyers (and sellers) understand the issue better.

2. (Optional On his feedback page, feel free to tell the whole world what you think of this seller. You only have about 80 characters, so make them count.
The only problem is that he may also leave you with another reply. (That is why I indicated this step as &quot;optional')

Glad to see you got your money back.

I all ready left the reply on my own page.

He's made his own feedback PRIVATE now, so hopefully that will be a red flag to future buyers.

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Originally Posted by Margareta

Thank you for sharing, gooderin! You are convincing me never to use eBay!

I never will, as the results are too hit and miss. There are people who bought real estate at the height of the bubble last year sight unseen. Tiny shacks with bathrooms on hard-to-reach lands going for more than $400,000.

Besides one fragrance store in town that I use has better prices than anywhere in town, hands down.

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Horrible experience. I am cautious about obtaining Chanel anymore. Many of their fragrances are sold only at Chanel boutiques now. I was going to buy No. 19 in parfum from Strawberry.net, but when I learned that they ship from Hong Kong, I doubted the authenticity and gave up.
Why does Chanel make us jump through hoops to get what we want in the U.S.?

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I've seen a lot of Chanel fragrances sold in the department stores, all across Canada; and now Shopper's Drug Mart has some too. I mean Shopper's Drug Mart has expanded their fragrance inventory to the lengths I am even surprised at, so I'm guessing that they have to be real Chanels. Otherwise, my recently purchased bottle of Allure Sensuelle is not real either, and I highly doubt that.

As for purchasing them on eBay, well I've had some amazing experiences so far. Good and bad, nevertheless. Hubby bought two Chanels from a guy who just did not want them any longer and they are real. They smell and last just as long as his department store purchased ones. I've bought countless bottles of fragrances from reputable sellers on eBay and I cannot complain that much, as most were excellent purchases. Sure there were instances where a package never arrived and for some unknown reason was returned to the seller, never having arrived at my door. There were other instances where a 75ml bottle of fragrance shrunk during shipping to a 30ml size: "but that's just what happens in shipping sometimes." LOL

Overall I know I will continue to buy from e-retailers, especially the I've had great experiences with. And once in a while I will try some new ones as well. After all refunds are usually available and that makes me happy!

"Of the five senses, the sense of smell is incontestably the one that best conveys a sense of immortality."

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Here in Southern California, Chanel is all over the place, but great scott what a price! I got a bottle of Chanel # 5 from ebay for half the price and it was very good. I have gotten some very good buys from there. You can find a rotten apple just about anywhere now-a-days. In other words, you can get screwed just about anywhere, but the money I have saved-all in all-has been well worth it for me.
So sorry about your problem Tiff. I sure hope the guy gets what he deserves.